Appo opens the football season this Saturday against tough Division II opponent Hodgson

Friday

Sep 7, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 7, 2012 at 7:04 AM

Appo opens their season this Saturday morning against Hodgson.

Mike Santa Barbara, Staff Writer

A year removed from a 9-1 record and a berth in the state tournament, the Appoquinimink Jaguars stumbled a bit last season, finishing at 4-6.

This season, the Jags look to turn things around and get the program back on track after a promising 2010 season.

Appo opens a new football season this Saturday morning when they’ll take on Hodgson. A year ago, Appo fell to Hodgson by the slimmest of margins, 15-14. This season, the Jaguars are hoping for a different result, but the squad and Head Coach Jeffrey Weiner know that won’t be easy.

“Hodgson is one of the best teams in Division II,” said Weiner. “And they return a lot of their starters from a year ago.”

Last season, Hodgson finished an impressive 10-0 during the regular season. Hodgson relied on a quick striking and powerful offense, scoring 30 or more points 7 times last season including two 50 plus-point performances.

Coach Weiner doesn’t see the Hodgson offense letting up this season, something his squad must be ready for. However, last season Appo gave up only 15 points to Hodgson, which was their lowest output of the season.

“They have a lot of speed and talent at the quarterback and receiver positions,” said Weiner. “They have a lot of size on their offensive and defensive lines, (as well).”

Weiner believes that if his Appo squad is to have success against Hodgson on Saturday, it all starts and ends with which team makes the most mistakes. Also, if Appo hopes to defeat Hodgson this time around, they must capitalize on those few and far between mistakes.

“We need to limit our mistakes and control the football,” said Weiner. “We can’t give up big plays to that offense.”

Weiner and his team know how important a win would be to open the season. The win would mean even more coming against such a high powered squad like Hodgson.

“It’s always important to win the first game,” said Weiner. “It could give our team a lot of momentum for the rest of the season.”

The season opens for Appo on Saturday morning at Hodgson, kickoff scheduled for 10:30 a.m.